1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to dual-bearing reels. More specifically, the present invention relates to dual-bearing reels onto which a harness for tying to an angler is attachable.
2. Background Information
Dual-bearing reels are generally equipped with: a reel body that attaches to a fishing rod; a spool rotatively carried in the reel body; a handle assembly for cranking the spool; and a torque-transmitting mechanism that transmits torque from the handle assembly to the spool.
A reel body includes a left-and-right pair of side plates, a plurality of connecting members that connect the pair of side plates, and a pair of side covers covering the outside of the pair of side plates. A mounting pod that fits onto a fishing rod is attached to the connecting member furnished at the bottom of the side plate pair. Further, in big-game dual-bearing reels, harness lugs, to which the harness for tying the reel body to an angler is removably and reattachably attachable, are installed on the connecting member furnished at the top of the reel body.
Reels equipped with harness lugs in this way let the weight of the fishing rod and reel be borne with a belt harness across the angler""s neck, shoulders, and waist. This lightens the burden on the arms when grappling with big-game fish, or deep-jigging (casting jigs in the 300 g to 500 g range to depths of 100 m or more, and winding up the jig while repeating a jerking action).
Since the mounting pod that fits onto a fishing rod is furnished at the bottom of the pair of side plates on the reel body of the dual-bearing reel, the reel body is necessarily positioned on the upper surface of the fishing rod. At the same time, the harness is attached to the upper portion of the reel body as described above. Under these circumstances, particularly with lever-drag reels like heavyweight trolling reels, the angler has to bear against the moment of the fishing rod, which tends to rotate about the axis of the fishing rod due to the weight of the reel itself. In the aforementioned big-game grappling and deep-jigging situations, because the direction of the moment frequently changes, increasing burden is caused on the neck, shoulders and waist of the angler on whom the harness is hung.
In view of the above, there exists a need for a reel which overcomes the above mentioned problems in the prior art. This invention addresses this need in the prior art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.
An object of the invention is to provide a dual-bearing reel that is attachable to a harness for tying to an angler, and relieves the burden on the angler who uses the harness.
A dual-bearing reel is a reel onto which a harness for tying to an angler is attachable, and is equipped with a reel body, a rod mount, harness clips, a spool, and a handle. The rod mount is furnished with a mounting pod that is disposed on top of the reel body and fitted onto the fishing rod, such that the reel body is disposed under the fishing rod during use. The harness clips are furnished on the rod mount side of the reel body for engaging the harness removably and reattachably. The handle cranks the spool.
Where the mounting pod is furnished on the upper part of the reel body of this dual-bearing reel, under-handling in which the reel body is disposed beneath the fishing rod during use, can be achieved. When the angler is actually fishing, the forward end of the belt-shaped harness passed across the angler""s neck, shoulders and waist is locked into the harness clips. The harness clips are moreover furnished on the mounting-pod end. Herein, since the reel body is disposed beneath the fishing rod, the reel""s center of gravity is positioned beneath the fishing rod. Therefore the reel is stable during the actual fishing. Accordingly, fishing-rod twisting moment is less likely to be produced, and the variation in moment direction will be slight. Nevertheless, because the harness clips are furnished on the mounting-pod side of the reel body, which is closer to the fishing rod, while the harness is locked into the harness clips during the fishing, force produced by the moment is less likely to act on the harness. This relieves the burden on the angler.
Preferably, the harness clips of the dual-bearing reel are provided on both ends of the reel body in the rotational axis orientation of the spool. In this case, by furnishing the harness clips on both ends of the reel body in the rotational axis orientation of the spool, the harness can be locked securely. At the same time, the reel body is unlikely to lean left or right relative to the spool rotational axis orientation with respect to the turning moment of the fishing rod.
Preferably, the harness clips of the dual-bearing reel are installed on the reel body, via a member that is separate from the reel body. In this case, the harness clips may for example be constituted from a material component different from that of the reel body.
Preferably, the mounting pod of the dual-bearing reel is attachable to and removable from the reel body. In this case, the mounting pod can be fitted not only to the upper part of the reel body, but also to the lower part.
Preferably, the mounting pod of the dual-bearing reel is also attachable to the bottom of the reel body. In this case, an under-handling reel can be achieved when the mounting pod is fitted to the upper part of the reel body, while an over-handling reel can be achieved when the mounting pod is fitted to the lower part of the reel body. In other words the same reel can be utilized either as an over-handling reel or an under-handling reel.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment of the present invention.